Upside-down in the Abyss
by AmaranthPrincess21
Summary: In the middle of her provisional period, Liz Hart vanishes without a trace. Klaus Goldstein already has enough on his plate, Elias and Yukiya are heartbroken, and no one can seem to console Azusa. Klaus knows it's a race of time to find Liz before she's hurt - or his brother does something stupid. And meanwhile, Liz is prey to something very dark.


_A/N: My older brother and I have been watching Stranger Things with my twin and their parents, so I've really been into it and I've been mulling over a STxWH AU for a while. Basically, I'm doing an AU of Azusa's route mixed with a shit ton of influences from Stranger Things and a horror movie I saw a month ago and really got inspired by._

* * *

It was just the same as killing a pigeon, Azusa told himself. It was exactly the same as killing a bird to feed the Nue. She was just another pigeon, he kept telling himself. But as tears ran in rivers down her face and his hands shaking as he tried to summon the Nue, he realized he couldn't do it. She wasn't a pigeon, a bird that only squawked when he wrung its neck. She would scream and cry and beg for her life. Azusa could already hear her death cries in his ears.

 _This isn't what Tsukasa would want._ He wouldn't want this girl's blood on his hands. _Gods, I'm weaker than she is,_ Azusa cringed. He could kill animals but not her? _But,_ a voice inside his head told him. _You don't_ need _her dead. You just need her out of the way._ That was right.

"起きる (Okiru)!" He made a sign and cast it towards Liz. Immediately, she fell silent and she collapsed, body sprawled out on the grass. Azusa quickly picked her up and headed to the East Forest. There was a darkness that couldn't be pierced, Randy had told him. No unicorn could live there, and there was no way Liz would make it out of there alive. He trusted the Nue or Tsukasa could lead him out.

The void seemed to swallow him up as he entered the forest, pushing deeper and deeper to find a suitable place to dump her. His feet were sore and he decided to come to a stop. Kneeling, he placed Liz on the ground and turned his back on her, going back the way he came. He was rid of her, she wouldn't be able to get in his way anymore, so why did he feel so empty inside? Why did he feel like something was clawing at his heart?

* * *

Elias sighed heavily as he sat in Klaus' office, turning the page through one of the many books his brother owned. Klaus, on the other hand, twisted his ring as he went over the photographs of the sacrificial sites. There was something so wrong about it. There was so much blood in the vigils and pooled under the sacrifices that it seemed impossible for all of the blood to come from the birds...

"Did Miss Hart like the earrings?" Elias finally spoke up, breaking the silence. Klaus looked up and found him giving him a curious gaze.

"I'd like to think she did," he replied.

"Elaine really came through with her fashion knowledge then, I guess," Elias commented. He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "I'm surprised you asked her for help with a design in the first place."

"Hart's a poor little country bumpkin. She deserves to own something nice," Klaus reasoned.

"What? You're letting her keep them once this is over with?"

"I'll remove the charm, but yes. I don't see why not." Elias shut his book and got up to sit in the chair opposite Klaus.

"We both know those earrings cost at least half a year's worth of allowance," he said.

"If you want to say something, say it," Klaus challenged him. "Stop beating around the bush."

"Did you stop to think how young she is?! She's my age! It's weird for you to be going after someone my age! And in my class, no less!" Elias fired at him. "I may have suggested her as a spy but your interest seems to be going a bit further than confidants."

"Are you kidding me, Elias? Can you hear yourself right now?" Klaus replied irritably. "I hardly know Hart. I chose her because she's Azusa's Buddy and your _glowing_ recommendation. And I gave her earrings because by the time this is over, she'll have worked hard for them and with all the mental scarring she'll have gone through, she'll need something nice." Elias groaned and leaned back in his chair, arms folded.

"I suppose you're right. But you better be careful, sneaking off to see her every night," Elias warned him. "I haven't seen much of Azusa, but I know he's the kind of guy that's willing to share."

"Oh really?" Klaus gave him a piercing glare.

"... Yeah, there were some things that happened..." Elias mumbled, looking towards the bookcase.

"Such as... ?" Elias sat up straight, but kept his gaze away from his elder brother.

"This happened a few days ago, but Miss Hart didn't pack hardly anything for lunch, so Yukiya decided to split his lunch with her. Azusa came to visit our classroom to have lunch with her and well, he was polite but you could tell he was fuming on the inside that she was eating with us," Elias told him.

"Why didn't you tell me about this when it happened?"

"Why would I? I didn't think it was important." Oh, it was important all right. The alarm bells in Klaus' head were going off. Jealousy was a common sin, but to get angry that she was eating with her friends? That didn't warrant anger. Was Azusa abusing her? Was he trying to control her? Klaus knew Liz was too naive and too much of a pushover to fight back. Come to think of it, he had seen dark bags under her eyes and bruises on her arms. She was clumsy, but none of these signs pointed to anything good.

"Hart's roommate is Amelia Nile, correct?" Klaus asked Elias.

"Yes, I think so."

"Go get her for me. I need to talk to her."

* * *

Yukiya took a deep breath as he steadied his wand. Seth sat near him, gold eyes watching his every move. Would it be rude to tell the creature that fed off your soul to go fuck off for a few moments?

"Grant this water the power to advance time! 'Transeo Hora!'" The vial of water started to glow, but a sharp pain in Yukiya's eyes made him miss the rest of it. Groaning, he screwed his eyes shut and sharply gasped for air. God, the pain was getting worse and worse as if someone was shoving nails into his eyes.

"It looks like the spell worked," Seth commented as if nothing was wrong. Yukiya sighed, letting his hands fall to his sides but keeping his eyes shut.

"Did you have to make magic so painful to use?" he demanded.

"That sounds like a personal problem," Seth retorted. He should have taken up his sister's offer on that muzzle when he had the chance. The full moon was coming soon and although he was trying to see her less, with the pain ringing through his head, it was clear to Yukiya that he'd need to see the mysterious ghost that soothed his pain.

Mentally making a plan for himself, he slowly opened his eyes. The light burned his uncovered eye and made it water. Trying his best to ignore the pain, Yukiya uncorked the vial and continued his practicing.

* * *

When Liz came to, she couldn't see a thing. Panic rose in her body. Had she lost her sight? But as she turned her head, she realized she could make out looming shapes in the darkness. So she could see. But where on earth was she? The last thing she remembered was Azusa's cold, emotionless face and his shaking hands. What had he done to her?

"Azusa?!" she called out. Maybe this was just some sick, twisted joke. Maybe it was just some huge misunderstanding. Maybe he was nearby and he'd come to rescue her any moment. "Azusa, are you there?!" The void was silent as she waited for his voice, for a sound, anything. One second, two seconds, twenty seconds, forty seconds, a minute passed and nothing sounded off.

This wasn't a joke, was it?

Azusa had left her in this darkness to die, hadn't he?

Tears welled in her eyes and for what seemed like the twentieth time this week, Liz began to sob. How could he have done this to her? How had she fallen for his lies? Was she as stupid as he said she was? Was she really dumb for wanting to believe in the best of people? Her naivete had gotten the best of her and led her to this situation, to her being trapped in this dark abyss.

 _No._

The word seemed to reverberate in the air around her, bouncing through the inky blackness.

 _You aren't wrong. It's him who is wrong. You gave him everything and he used you._ The voice was so silky and thick and warm. It reminded her of the dark chocolate fudge she used to put on her sundaes. _He took your kindness and used it. Darling, you're not in the wrong._

That's right. He had done this. She had done her best to be kind and accommodating, and yet he threw her aside like a threadbare sock. Azusa took her love and stomped it into the ground and cursed her with silence. No, she wouldn't let him have his way anymore. Liz got up off the ground and brushed herself off. She was going to confront him and make him realize she was a force to be reckoned with.

 _That's a good girl,_ the voice said lovingly. Liz snapped her head to the side as she felt hot breath tickle her ear. She couldn't see anything and when she reached out to touch whatever was speaking to her, her fingers only grasped air. There was a rush of wind and she felt more alone than ever. Had someone just been with her? Why did they leave her to find her own way out?

 _Focus, Liz! Focus,_ she told herself. Answers would be nice, but first, she needed to figure out where she was and how to get out.


End file.
